Okinawan Terms: Utaki and Gusuku

Utaki (御嶽) is an Okinawan term for a sacred place.

Although the term utaki is used throughout the Okinawa region, the terms suku and on are heard in the Miyako and Yaeyama regions respectively. Utaki are usually located on the outskirts of villages and are places for the veneration of gods and ancestors.

Most gusuku have places of worship, and it is theorized that the origins of both gusuku and utaki are closely related.

The Miyako Islands (宮古列島 Miyako Rettō^?) are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, east of the Yaeyama Islands.The Yaeyama Islands (八重山諸島 Yaeyama-shotō, also 八重山列島 Yaeyama-rettō, Yaeyama: Yaima Okinawan: Eema) are a group of islands in the southwest of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. 
Gusuku (ぐすく, 城^?, Okinawan: gushiku)^[1] often refers to Okinawan castles or fortresses that feature stone walls.

Important Utaki

• Biinudaki (弁ヶ嶽), Naha
• Misaki-on (美崎御嶽), Ishigaki
• Miyatori-on (宮鳥御嶽), Nago
• Pyarumizu-utaki (漲水御嶽), Miyako
• Sefa-utaki (斎場御嶽), Nanjō
• Sunuhyan-utaki (園比屋武御嶽), Naha
• Tohaya-uganju (渡波屋拝所), Nago
• Tsunoji-utaki (ツノジ御嶽), Miyako
• Upugusuku-utaki (大城御嶽), Miyako